Appreciative inquiry

History

The idea of appreciative inquiry came about as a different way of approaching problems. Whereas some organizations look for problems in reviews, and then attempt to analyse the cause so that they can find a solution and set up an action plan to make it happen, AI uses a more positive approach.  With AI the people reviewing look at what is going well, what might be possible, and then engaging in talk about what should  be while innovation what will be. This approach has also been looked at with education. Instead of looking at what people are doing wrong and trying to correct it, they look at what they are doing well, and try and work with that.

In previous models and the reason AI was developed, too much emphasis was placed on the negative, and irradiating it. However, this purposes that everything that we believe to be bad, is. Victorian fashion dictated a very conservative dress code, and the 60’s promoted a very liberal one, almost completely different from the former. If we were to look at what is an appropriate style of clothing based on these two time periods, then how would we conclude which was correct, and which was wrong.

With AI, we don’t, but work with the positive aspects of both. It is also believed that focusing on the negative problems will only promote them more. If you do not acknowledge a negative behaviour in the classroom, then it brings notice to it and can exasperate it more. Publishing the actions of mass murder’s only gives them power, encourages more and is counterproductive.

There are five principals to AI, which are:

1) The constructionist principle proposes that what we believe to be true determines what we do, and thought and action emerge from relationships. Through the language and discourse of day to day interactions, people co-construct the organizations they inhabit. The purpose of inquiry is to stimulate new ideas, stories and images that generate new possibilities for action.

2) The principle of simultaneity proposes that as we inquire into human systems we change them and the seeds of change, the things people think and talk about, what they discover and learn, are implicit in the very first questions asked. Questions are never neutral, they are fateful, and social systems move in the direction of the questions they most persistently and passionately discuss.

3) The poetic principle proposes that organizational life is expressed in the stories people tell each other every day, and the story of the organization is constantly being co-authored. The words and topics chosen for inquiry have an impact far beyond just the words themselves. They invoke sentiments, understandings, and worlds of meaning. In all phases of the inquiry effort is put into using words that point to, enliven and inspire the best in people.

4) The anticipatory principle posits that what we do today is guided by our image of the future. Human systems are forever projecting ahead of themselves a horizon of expectation that brings the future powerfully into the present as a mobilizing agent. Appreciative inquiry uses artful creation of positive imagery on a collective basis to refashion anticipatory reality.

5) The positive principle proposes that momentum and sustainable change requires positive affect and social bonding. Sentiments like hope, excitement, inspiration, camaraderie and joy increase creativity, openness to new ideas and people, and cognitive flexibility. They also promote the strong connections and relationships between people, particularly between groups in conflict, required for collective inquiry and change.

A comparison of the two methods

Problem Solving	Appreciative inquiry
Felt need, identification of problem(s)	Appreciating—valuing "the best of what is"
Analysis of Causes	Envisioning what might be
Analysis of possible solutions	Engaging in dialogue about what should be
Action Planning (treatment)	Innovating what will be